Mail-bag



(No Mudel.) y J. F. ALLEN. MAIL BAG.

No. 473,603. Patented Apr. 26, 1892.

Wfl-155555 C I NvENT-nR my# QH. 73ML 'G3 QM MM5' UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE.

JAMES F. ALLEN, OF ELYRIA, OHIO.

MAIL-BAG.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 473,603, dated April 26, 1892. Application filed June 1, 1891. Renewed March 30, 1892. Serial No. 426,996. (No model.) Y

To all whom t may concern.-

Be it known that I, JAMES F. ALLEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Elyria, in the county of Lorain and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mail-Bags, of which the following is `a specification.

My invention relates to the class of mailbags in which external flanges or welts secured along its upper edge are grasped by a clasp or series of clasps when the mout-h of the bag is closed for the purpose of holding it closed.

The primary object of my invention is to provide a bag of the above-described class the top edges of which may be quickly and correct-ly laid together in a position where they may be grasped by a series of clamps secured to a flexible strap andwin which there will be comparatively little wear and tear incident to the fastening, unfastening, and filling' of the bag.

My invention consists in the construction and combination of parts hereinafter described, all of which will be denitely pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure l is a side view of top part of mail-bag. Fig. 2 is a top view of the bag when open. Fig. 3 is-a vertical section on line 3 3 of Fig. l. Fig. 4 is a view of one upper corner of the bag when closed and fastened by means of a padlock. Fig. 5 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of the label-holder.

I will now proceed to describe in detail the 1nail-bag shown in the drawings, which is the best embodiment of my invention now known to me.

Referring to the parts by letters, A represents a leather mail-bag of the regulation size and shape. Along the upper end of said bag are two exterior flanges a a', each of which extends substantially one-half of the distance around the top of the bag. By thus employing two hinged flanges the bag may be readily folded at the points Where said flanges meet and the two flanged edges thereby brought into contact the entire distance across the bag. These flanges are formed by riveting to the bag strips of belt-leather about onehalf inch wide. As many thicknesses of leather maybe employed as may be necessary .able manner.

tates the work of drawing the clamps across the top of the bag for the purpose of fastening the same in a closed position.

In order to strengthen the bag to make lit more durable and to facilitate the closing and fastening thereof, I fasten to the proximate ends of the flanges a o the straps or leaves of the hinges B B. These hinges are riveted to said flanges and are curved slightly downward from their upper edges toward their pintles, wherefore the clamps slide over said flanges more easily. The hinges also' protect the ends of the flanges from wear, they relieve the leather of the bag from strain when the bag is hanging open, and in closing the bag they accuratelybrng the flan ged edges thereof together, as shown.

O represents a flexible strap, made of leather and substantially preferably as wide as the distance between the outer edges of said v flanges when the bag is closed. To this strap I fasten a number of depending curved fingers d d, arranged on both sides of the strap and of such shape that they extend around and under the flanges a a', and thus prevent said flanges from being drawn apart. In the form shown two of these lingers are made integral with a connecting-band d', thereby forming a clamp D, which lies on top of the strap, to which it is secured by rivets. This leaves the under side of the strap, whichslides in contact with the top of the bag, substantially smooth. i

In order to prevent the strap from being lost or mislaid and for the further purpose of holding it in the proper relation to the flanges, one end thereof is attached to the bag, as shown, by means of an eye in its end and a staple secured to the bag, or in any other suit- The other end of the strap may be locked to the bag when the bag has been fastened by means of a hasp on its end, a staple on the bag, and a padlock, as shown in IOO Fig. 4, or a spring-lock H may be secured to the bag, as shown in Fig. l, and a bolt e, adapted to be caught in said lock, may be secured to the end of the strap. This I regard as the best construction, for the reasons that the lock can never be lost or mislaid, and it is always in place to be quickly locked.

The rings F F, secured to one side of the bag, and the handle G, secured to the other side, may engage with the hooks of' the common postofce-frame, and the bag thereby held open during the time it is being filled.

To fasten the above-described bag, the twov flanged edges are brought together, the first clamp is drawn to a position Where it em` braces both of' said flanged edges, whereupon the strap may be pulled quickly across the top of the bag, and all of the otherclamps following the first clamp embrace the two flanged edges and prevent them from being drawn apart. 'lhe free edge of the strap may then be locked to the bag in the above-described manner. In addition to serving as the support for the clamps and the medium through which said clamps may be drawn into place and there held, the strap serves as a cover for the mouth of the bag, which so effectually closes the same that no dirt or rain can enter it when the two edges are fastened together, as above shown. To untasten the bag, it is only necessary to unfasten the locked end of the strap, which may then be pulled off to one side, thereby freeing the clamps from the flanges.

Secured to one of the clamps D is the labelholder E, which consists in the form shown of a bottom plate e, vertical flanges c', springing from said plate at one end and both sides, and a top plate e2, made of spring metal, which is secured at one end to the flanges and has a lug or flange e3 depending from its free end. To insert a label, the free-end is lifted and the label pushed into the holder. When the free end of the spring-plate is released, it springs back and the lug prevents the withdrawal of the label until it is again lifted. By attaching the label-holder to only one of the clamps D it does not afiect the necessary flexibility of the strap, to which said clamps are attached, while at the same time the label-holder is yheld in a position most convenient for reference.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Pat-ent, is-

l. In a mail-bag, the combination of the bag A, flanges d d', applied at the mouth or upper edge of' the bag and formingaflexible strengthening-binding from end to end of the bag, hinges B, having their leav es attached to the contiguous ends of the flanges, a flexible, sliding, closing, and locking strap placed on the top edge of the bag, so as to close the joint, and a series of angular pendent clamps connected to the strap and bearing against and under the flanges, substantially as described.

2. In combination, the bag having the flanges, as described, the strap having the sliding clamps en gagin gsaid flanges, and the label-holder formed of a plate e, having vertical flanges e at one end and both sides, movable spring top plate e2, secured at one end to an end flange and provided with a flange es, depending from its free end, and said holder being attached to one f the clamps of the closing and locking strap, substantially as described.

JAMES F. ALLEN. Witnesses:

E. W. METCALF, J. D. FAXON. 

